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2015-11-28 - We Are Iron Women
7:30am Eastern Standard Time Both Pepper Pots and Sabrielle Maris get a text message that originates from the cell phone of Tony Stark. The message is clear: *911* Please come to my lab at Avenger's Mansion ASAP When the two red heads arrive at Tony's lab, he is nowhere to be found. When they step inside the door closes and locks behind them as the lights come up and a bluish-green hologram of Tony's A.I. JARVIS appears in the middle of the room. Jarvis bows, "Miss Potts and Miss Maris. I apologize for misleading you with that text message. Mister Stark has a message that I have been instructed to relay to you. Sabrielle had already been awake, quietly packing things. Her hair is back in a french braid, bright against the deep purple sweater paired with comfortable jeans and boots. She'd come at once, not fussing with makeup or breakfast or the like. Seeing Pepper only makes her /more/ nervous, not less, fingers curling into the sleeves of her sweater. "Jarvis... is Tony not here?" She's gotten used to talking to.. well, she never thinks of Jarvis as not real, or even as an A.I., he's sort of ...well, she can't explain it. But she always addresses him as if he's real. Pepper Potts had dropped everything when she got the text. If Tony was at the Avengers Mansion and for some reason did NOT just get one of the other Avengers to help, then there was some sort of major problem, or some emergency that he couldnt tell the other Avengers about. "Okay I got here as soon as I can Tony and.... and he's not here." She looks around, then looks at Sabrielle, then at Jarvis. "Please tell me this was an actual emergency since I just hung up on the Sultan of Brunei when I got that text..." A screen appears in mid-air and Tony's image comes into focus. He's sitting in a chair with one of his long sleeved t-shirts on and a pair of slacks. He smirks. "If this message is playing right now, it means that something has happened to me, and for some reason, the Avengers aren't available. If that is the case, then Jarvis would have enacted operation LAST RESORT." The image exhales softly. "Pepper and Sabrielle....what I am about to ask of you goes beyond anything I have ever asked of either of you. My life is in danger. And you two are the only ones that can save me. Luckily, I have a plan in place for just such an occassion. Jarvis?" The screen blinks out of existence only to be replaced by another. This time Jarvis re-appears. "Seventeen minutes ago, this took place..." An image appears on the screen as men dressed in yellow and carrying energy weapons ambush Tony while he's driving in his car. They crash it on purpose while driving around in a futuristic looking tank. Three men get out and open the door to his Aston Martin, fire three blue colored lasers into him. Drag him out and carry him into the back of the tank. The tank then cloaks and the video feed ends. Jarvis then re-appears. "Mister Stark has been kidnapped by Advanced Idea Mechanics. I am able to track him via the GPS tracker that he had installed in his arc heart recently. However, I do not have the means to retrieve him. This is where you two come in." Sabrielle pales as the message plays, blue eyes widening, pupils dilating as that video plays. She swallows with difficulty, hands fisted in the cuffs of her sweater. There's a deep breath taken, held, and let out. Repeat. "Where is he, Jarvis." Her voice is so controlled as to sound flat, jaw tightening to clench. "Is the armor Tony started for me finished, or not?" If emotions were palpable, the air around the empath would be scalding. Pepper Potts blinks a few times. "Oh God. That.... is definitely an emergency. Why weren't the Avengers told?! I mean... - wait he made you armor too?" Jarvis answers Sabrielle, "He is currently located in an underground facility in South America. Brazil, to be exact." A 3d map appears and the area is highlighted, a circle appears where Tony's location is supposed to be. "Yes, ma'am. Your armor is complete as is Miss Potts'." A door opens on the wall and a suit of armor slides out. It's black and gold in appearance. Jarvis states, "Miss Potts, this is your armor. It is equipped with cluster missiles, smart bombs, state of the art hacking software, advanced repulsor technology, and it has been designed to interface with you to work in conjunction with your Extremis abilities. Armor Designation: Iron Woman." Another set of armor slides out of the wall opposite the other. It's crimson and gold and like the other armor, it's sleek and expressly meant to be worn by a female. "Miss Maris, your armor is equipped with advanced repulsor technology, global communication software, extra sensory enhancement, stealth module, and defensive energy shield. Armor Designation: Iron Maiden" Jarvis then points to the slightly glowing raised platforms. "Your armor will fuse with you while standing on those platforms using the command phrase: Suit Up." Sabrielle closes her eyes briefly, shaking her head. "I agreed to let him make it. I wanted to help him with...some things. It was our compromise. " Her voice is low, quiet. "I didn't expect to be using it like this." She strips off that sweater off over her head, heading for the platform. She's wearing a t-shirt underneath, at least. "I'm going." Pepper Potts blinks as she gets onto the platform. "Compromise? There's compromises involving battle armor? I really hope this is just an elaborate trick to get me to wear this thing and not Tony really being in trouble..." She take a deep breath. "Suit up." Pepper Potts blinks as she gets onto the platform. "Looks different than the RESCUE armor at Stark Tower..." Then adds, "Compromise? There's compromises involving battle armor? I really hope this is just an elaborate trick to get me to wear this thing and not Tony really being in trouble..." She take a deep breath. "Suit up." "There is when you're a stubborn redhead, and you date an overprotective super genius, and you're hell bent on helping him against some nasties." Sabrielle gets up on the platform, blue eyes closing as she takes another deep breath. "Suit up." Her throat feels tight. "I hope for him it's not a trick, or he'll be sorry. I wanted to learn to use this thing without an emergency." Pepper Potts looks at Sabrielle as the armor goes on her. "Okay this thing is much higher powered than RESCUE is. Jarvis when did Tony make this? And tie the location on the map to navigation. Any way to lock in on his arc reactor?" Pepper looks at Sabrielle after a moment of silence. "Well I don't know how this all works... I've never worn any of this armor and not like I read a manual on this." As arms come out of the ceiling and place the armor on both women once they use the command word, once the helmet fits into place and the visor comes down, the HUD activates, giving them all kinds of readouts, from their own vitals to the vitals of the other suit wearer. The image of Jarvis appears in the top right corner to assist them whenever they need it. The platform that they stand on slides back into the wall with them on it, and as a motorized lift shoots them through multiple twisting hallways until they stand on a platform outside in the open air. Jarvis speaks, "The armor will guide you to the checkpoint on Mr. Stark's last known location. Good luck, ladies. You're going to need it. Once on site, you'll be able to detect his arc reactor and hone in on his location better." Inside the armor, Sabrielle shudders. There's a brief spike in her heart rate, her respiration rising, as the enclosure of the suit momentarily makes her feel a little claustrophobic. "How does he do this." She whispers to herself, before she's looking around. "Tony must really need us. I don't think he'd risk us both for a trick." She says to be transmitted to Pepper. "Well, away we go." There may be a brief prayer said before the dancer is leaping off the platform. Pepper Potts takes off in the 'Iron Woman' armor after Sabrielle. "Don't think of yourself being in the armor okay? Just think of it as a another outfit. With a helmet." Admittedly it might be easier for Pepper, because of the Extremis. "I don't like wearing the armor either. Barely comfortable about the idea of the RESCUE armor, definitely not this battle-suit...thing. Sokay. I'm bringing Tony's luggage with us." As the two temporary heroines make it to Brazil, the radar leads them to what looks like an ancient temple. Probably Aztec or something similar. A bright blue light fires in a continuous stream out of the top and it strikes a radar dish on a platform above it. Meanwhile, a lot of those tanks from the video are rolling around outside, along with people in power armor and foot soldiers carrying those guns like the ones that shot Tony. As for the arc radar, it says that Tony is still alive, but weak, as if he's going to run out of power soon. And he's somewhere inside of that large temple. Sabrielle finds a place to hover out of direct sight. "Is there any way to communicate with him?" She asks, either to Jarvis or Pepper. "What is that blue fire, Jarvis, do we know? And do we know anything about the layout of the place?" She glances around. "We need to get in there. If we can distract them... one of us can get in and get him out." Pepper Potts shrugs. "Yeah... I have a way to distract them. As in..." She hands Sabrielle the briefcase. "You have stealth on your suit. I'm going to handle the guys up there and hack open the door, you're going to go in, find Tony with your telepath-y.... powers... and give him this. He'll know what to do with it. Wait for the distraction before you go in." Then she flies down a bit, aims her arm, and launches a series of smart cluster bombs at the tanks. Jarvis answers Sabrielle, "Miss Maris.there is no communicating with Mr. Stark at this time. His comm unit was destroyed. However, I have done an analysis of the energy coming from the temple. It is pure arc energy, it seems. I do have a schematic of the inside." And it pops up on Sabrielle's HUD. "As Miss Potts stated. You do have stealth technology." When Pepper fires her bombs, it blows up two of the tanks right off the bad. There is a lot of chatter before the tanks and the powered soldiers begin to return fire. "Miss Potts, might I say that you handle this like you know what you're doing. Mr Stark would have done the same thing." Sabrielle looks at Pepper, a moment where her heart literally skips a beat. She engages the stealth mode, muttering about the suitcase, and wishing she could feel it in her grip, not in an armored hand. "Let's see what I can do." She murmurs, diving down to follow the schematic's building into an opening. Her bottom lip is being bitten until the flesh threatens to give. << Tony? Talk to me, baby. I need to find you. I'm here. Pepper's here. Let me bring you home. >> Pepper Potts is, meanwhile, firing off a few more cluster bombs before flying evasively around the incoming fire, then firing her repulsors at some of the armored soldiers. She says to Jarvis, "Yeah well... I've seen Tony do this for how long?" Also probably because of that 'increased aggression in dangerous situations' byproduct of Extremis. She brings up an in-helmet display of where all the tanks and armored soldiers are, focusing first on the tanks, as she assumed they had more firepower. She then comms to Sabrielle, << Look, Sabrielle, it looks like the entire building is using arc energy... soooo that might be masking Tony's reactor. OR something. I don't know. This isnt my thing.>> She blasts an armored soldier with repulsors before flying out of the way of counterfire. << But your armor also has extra sensory.. something, which I'm guessing will help with your telepathy. And don't ask me how it works because I have no idea. Plus I'm not a telepath. >> Pepper gets hit by some shells, then sends a missile at the tank that hit her before flying down to the ground to engage more soldiers. << But if you can't find him with your psychic ... stuff.... find the power center of that place and blow that up. >> At first, there is no answer to Sabrielle's mental calls. Then she would get a familiar warm feeling before hearing. << Sabs? That you? Ugh..I'm so tired..and hungry. Ha! Project Last Resort worked! Yay me!>> Silence. << Um..I don't know where I am. I've got wires all over me and they're plugged into this big machine. And I don't feel so good. I think they're using me to power whatever it is they're doing here.>> However, he does send her a mental picture of where he is, and how to get there from her current location. She'll have to go down another floor, and deal with the sentry bot that guards the door to the room where Tony is. Meanwhile, Pepper has them running scared. If they didn't know that they had Tony Stark down in the basement, they'd swear he was attacking them now...in female armor. "Miss Potts...might I suggest you target the radar dish? It will create a feedback loop and possibly disrupt the signal." Pepper takes more fire as AIM starts to get a little more organized now. "What if..." Sabrielle starts to communicate verbally with Pepper when Tony starts to responds. << Tony! Yes, sugar, it's me. Pepper and I came to get you out of this. Be prepared to be lectured, she hung up on the Sultan of Brunei for you. >> She teases, trying to keep her emotions back. "Yeaaaaaah, that's what I was afraid of when Jarvis said arc energy. I can't blow up the power source, because /Tony is/ the power source, Pepper. " She's follows Tony's mental map, trying to keep her nerves in check as she uses the energy shield and the weaponry to blow up the sentry bot. "Be careful! I don't know if that feedback loop could fry Tony!" She's looking at him a moment, and there will be a big jump in her pulse and oxygen intake rates for a few seconds. << Tony. I'm gonna unhook you know, okay? >> She's looking at the machines, the wires. She needs to turn it all off without hurting him. Pepper Potts responds, "Thank you Jarvis..." she says before targetting the radar dish. When in doubt, do what the AI says. She fires off a missile at it to disrupt the signal, then gets back on the comm. << Tony was the power source? Um.... we didn't bring anything to recharge his node so remind him of that! Even though I'm sure he knows it already. >> She takes a moment to see how many enemies are still engaging before heading into the base where Sabrielle went. Tony isn't in bad shape. He hasn't been beaten on or anything, but all the wires lead into his arc heart, and there is the fact that his shirt is off. He opens his eyes barely. "Tired." He says audibly. "Can't pull out the wires.." He coughs. "Gotta shut down computer." There is nothing stopping Pepper from going in after Sabrielle at this point. Most of her shots have taken out the heavy artillery, and the footsoldiers are just a joke at this point. Sabrielle nods, not thinking that Tony can't see her do it inside the suit. "They've got him all wired up like a Christmas display on steroids." She's under stress, maybe her metaphor isn't the best. << All right, sugar. We'll get you out of this, and then I'm not letting you out of my sight for DAYS. You hear me? >> "Jarvis, I need to shut the computer down, but I'm worried if I just unplug it, it'll hurt him." She's already looking at the computer, her vitals showing rising stress levels. Pepper Potts uses Jarvis to find where Sabrielle is, and therefore where Tony is, after dispersing most of the soldiers from the entrance. En route, she says to Sabrielle << Um, you're still on the comm, and my suit has hacking software. I'll shut it down. >> Then pauses and says to JARVIS, in a hushed voice, "Er... Jarvis, how do I find the computer to hack and shut it down?" Short pause. "I don't usually do this sort of thing!" Tony closes his eyes and lets out a soft breath. It's almost like he's asleep. <> Is what comes from him that Sabrielle can pick up. Jarvis states. "Miss Potts can handle the computer." A pause and then he says in only Pepper's suit. "Miss Potts how about that one?" He highlights the large super computer that's currently connected to Tony. "Need I remind you that you can initiate a hack without being hardwired into the system." As Sabrielle frets over Tony, warning bells begin to sound off inside of her suit. "Miss Maris, Mr. Stark is going into cardiac arrest." Tony begins having some type of seizure as the light of his arc reactor goes very, very dim. Pepper Potts responds to Jarvis, "Yes, Jarvis, you did need to remind me that, since I am not a hacking genius! I paid the Geek Squad to set up my smart TV for me!" At which point she proceeds to remote-access the computer via the suit's tech. Extremis and a suit with built-in hacking protocols does make this sort of stuff so much easier, "Okay, shutting down the computer and disengaging from the power sou-er... Tony. Now." Of course, the alarm bells only make her stress levels spike, her own heart rabbiting. << Gods damnit, Tony! You listen to me. Stay... I need you. >> It's all inside his head, before the empath is frustrated, and starts unhooking wires in a rush. She takes a deep breath, and while her heart rate is still too high for normal, she's trying to calm herself. Empathy applied to Tony's consciousness, trying to calm him, relax him, even as she tries to use her telepathy to keep him from slipping away. "Jarvis, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to handle a cardiac arrest in a man with an arc reactor!" The first thing she'll do is figure out a way to get the damn helmet off. As Pepper finishes hacking the computer and it powers down, the wires are actually easier to come out of Tony's chest. Meanwhile, Jarvis states to Sabrielle. "Miss Maris, please calm down. You are prepared for this eventuality. Place your hands over his chest and find and access subroutine R-L44." Once Sabs does that, the cracks in her armor glow bright blue and Tony's body shivers just before his heart lights up again, though it's still dimmer than it normally would be. Jarvis states. "He has been stabalized." Tony grunts and moans as he sits up off the slab he was lying on. "I feel terrible." He blinks. "Thank you both. You saved my life." Sabrielle is in a blind panic, even as she's doing as Jarvis tells her. "How the hell would I know? It's not like I got directions!" She's hissing verbally at Jarvis. Once Tony sits up, however, Sabrielle is walking a few steps away from him, back to him. Pepper Potts pauses, holding her breath. But she's a little calmer after Tony's no longer in cardiac arrest. "I think we should save that for when we've gotten you out of here and into the infirmary at Stark Tower." She points to the briefcase. "We brought your luggage.... do you have enough power to use it still?" Tony nods at Pepper. "Yeah. This one is different. It charges me while I wear it. Not a lot of offensive power, but it's more for defense." He looks over at Sabrielle, not needing to be a telepath to know that she's upset. He would have to make it up to her later. "Toss it to me." Catching the briefcase in his hands, he hits a button and then tosses it at his feet. He steps into it as it rises from the floor, creating his armor as he goes along. Finally it seals him inside as his chest lights up as bright as it normally does. His voice now speaks over the comm channel. "Let's go home. I don't want to be here when MODOK comes back." Sabrielle is more interested in keeping herself together, and not falling apart in tears. She can do that later, when Tony's asleep and she can be alone. A deep breath taken, knowing any minute Tony will have access to her vitals from her suit, reaching for a calm she doesn't truly feel. "Anything to get you out of here and get you home where I can give you a lecture. And Pepper can try to apologize to the Sultan fella." Pepper Potts looks at the two of them. "I'll clear out any stragglers on the way out, then Sabrielle's going to apparently give you such a tongue lashing. And not in a good way. Normally that's my job but I think she needs it right now." Then she flies off towards the exit, making sure it's clear for Tony and Sabs, since her armor seems to be the more 'offensive-based' one, apparently. << Although you did succeed in making me sort of find blasting stuff to be reallllllly carthartic, Tony." Tony grins as he flies out after Pepper. << Told you that you'd be a natural, Pepper. There's an open spot for you on the Avengers..>> He's halfway joking, but he also knows that'll get Pepper talking bout something else other than the lecture that he's going to get from Sabrielle. << For the record, ladies. This is totally not my fault. I was kidnapped and used as a power source to try to rip a hole in space-time. Why? I don't know. But I really am going to sleep when I get home. Thank you both. Again." Pepper may be disappointed, as Sabrielle is totally fronting, and won't actually be reading Tony any riot act. She will probably make him have some soup and tea, and then tuck him into bed, keep him hydrated, and not let him do a blasted thing for like three days. "Save it until we get you home. You are so going to be in trouble." If he considers coddling and cuddling trouble, anyhow.